In
1605, Guy Fawkes and a group of conspirators attempted to blow up the
Houses of Parliament. Before they were able to carry out their plan they
were caught, tortured and executed. Every year since then we have
traditionally celebrated his failure by letting off fireworks and burning
an effigy of 'Guy'.

COMING
SOON TO A VILLAGE NEAR YOU ........... NOVEMBER 5th ................. GUY
FAWKES NIGHT ............ BONFIRE and FIREWORKS DISPLAY.

There
had been many many years of fighting between the Catholics and the Protestants.
The Catholics regarded the Pope (in Rome) as the head of their Church, but
the Protestants said that the head of the English Church was the King of
England. By the time that James I, a Protestant, became King, the
Catholics had been treated very badly and were restless. So it was
that a Catholic called Robert Catesby decided to do something about it.
He brought five men together and told them of his secret plan. One of the
men was Guy Fawkes.

Guy
Fawkes

THE
PLOT

Catesby wanted to get rid of the King and his Parliament. He decided to
blow them up with gunpowder! In early November, the members of Parliament
were going to meet together and the King would be there too, so Catesby
and the other men decided that this would be a good opportunity. They
rented a house next door to the Parliament buildings, and started to dig a
tunnel underneath to get to the cellars! This took a very long time and
was very hard work. Later they found a cellar underneath the Parliament
buildings which they could rent. Much easier! They moved the gunpowder
into the cellar.

More
Catholics joined the plotters, but as more men heard about the plot, it
became harder to keep it secret. Eventually, someone sent a warning letter
to one of the Members of Parliament and the plot was discovered.Soldiers were sent to the rented house and
the cellars and found the gunpowder. They also found Guy Fawkes, waiting
with matches ready to light the fuse which would make the gunpowder
explode. He was arrested and horribly tortured to make him tell who else
was involved. All the plotters were found guilty of treason and executed.

Fireworks
display - starburst rocket

The
Members of Parliament were so pleased they had not been blown up, they
made a law that 5th November would be a day of thanksgiving and
celebration, and that is why we have bonfires and fireworks on
"bonfire night".

In
some ways Bonfire Night is related to the ancient festival of Samhain, the
Celtic New Year. Bonfires formed an important part of the Celtic New Year
celebrations - warding off evil spirits. Bonfires play a part in many
customs all over the world. On November 5th as part of Bonfire Night
celebrations we too light bonfires. What makes the British Bonfire Night
celebrations special is the burning of the guy. The guy is a figure
usually made by the children out of old clothes, papier mache and anything
else we can use. It represents Guy Fawkes and is burnt on the bonfire.
Sometimes in the week or so before Bonfire Night children will take their
guys on to the street and beg "a penny for the Guy". The money
then goes towards the fireworks.

In Sussex, towns such as Lewes compete to have the best Bonfire Night
celebrations. The guys used in these celebrations can be enormous - the
height of a small house - and under the guy's arm is placed a barrel of
gunpowder, so you can imagine the bang when it goes off! Attempts are
regularly made on world records - a few years ago we saw a successful
attempt on making the world's largest Catherine wheel. The Sussex
celebrations still reflect some of the anti-Catholic feelings which were
part of the Bonfire Night celebrations of the past.

Bonfire
Night

Bonfires
have long been used as an expression of rejoicing in England, particularly
to mark victories or deliverances, either spontaneously or by being
ordained by the authorities. They have also formed an integral part of
particular calendar customs. The evolution of the English
late-Autumn bonfire festivities is complex, with many strands woven into
it. Some have attempted to trace it back to the Celtic festival of Samhain;
others suggest that it is based upon the the custom of lighting bonfires
to protect against disease, or to burn bones for fertilizer.

A document from Henry VIII's reign recommends that people should hold
processions and light bonfires as a celebration of their release from the
grasp of the Papacy. It is certain that in Elizabethan times the accession
of the Queen was commemorated by public bonfires on 17th November each
year, and perhaps this made a significant contribution in her successor's
reign to the later national celebration of "Guy Fawkes Night"
(though it is never properly known by this name in Sussex!)

After
the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, celebrations were held throughout the country
on 5th November, encouraged by the Church of England and other
authorities. Both Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn refer to the custom in
their diaries. It is not clear why this habit of communal celebration died
out (or dwindled into family bonfires with a few fireworks and maybe a
Guy) in many areas, or why the tradition remained so strong in Sussex.
Whatever the reason, the surviving Sussex celebrations degenerated into
disorganised and drunken revelry, with houses being (accidentally or
deliberately) burnt down. Often large numbers of local people were sworn
in as special constables to control the Bonfire Boys, resulting in arrests
and subsequent heavy fines or imprisonment. The formation of the original
Bonfire Societies, to bring them into some kind of order, came none too
soon.